At 89, FVR soldiers on

Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos, the country’s 12th commander-in-chief and a hero of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution is PeopleAsia magazine’s Max V. Soliven Lifetime Achievement Awardee.

Turning 90 this March, Ramos is widely credited for the strengthening of the institutions of democracy that were restored by his predecessor Corazon Aquino, who “anointed” him to bear the torch of leadership passed from her hands.

I covered FVR briefly at Malacañang (We called him “Tabako” because of the symbolic unlit cigar he would chew on or hold between his index and middle fingers)  and remember how he would exhort supporters to, “Stay with me, the best is yet to come.” And who could forget his trademark thumbs-up sign whenever he would lead his troops to battle, whether the battle meant the rebuilding of a bridge or of tattered peace talks? “Kaya natin ‘to (We can do this)!” he would say.

He was true to his word. Cory Aquino led in the restoration of democracy against many odds. But it fell into Ramos’ hands to ensure that the gains of democracy were preserved so that another kind of revolution, an economic revolution, would liberate Filipinos from the tyranny of poverty.

The Philippine STAR associate editor Marichu Villanueva, who covered the Ramos presidency from Day One, says the soldier-turned-President will be remembered for “reforms that became law — from breaking down monopolies in telecommunications to opening up the Philippines to foreign investments through tax incentives and other incentives.”

“FVR was and continues to be the best ‘salesman’ the Philippines ever had,” she says.

Villanueva also credits Ramos, the son of a diplomat, for undertaking a “peace process with all groups of rebels from military to the MNLF that ended in formal peace pacts.”

Makati executive Jojo Terencio, who was once FVR’s “shadow” as the government close-in reporter assigned to the President, believes his former boss’ lasting legacy was “his economic diplomacy that made the Philippines an economic tiger cub.”

“It was unfortunate that this economic standing was affected by the economic Asian Crisis that happened in late 1997, early 1998. However, post-crisis analysis revealed that the Philippines didn’t suffer much because of the solid economic fundamentals initiated by FVR,” Terencio adds. His fondest memories of FVR, however, didn’t have anything to do with the economy.

“As a boss, he treated his staff very well. When we had to work on weekends and were on stand-by at his Tagaytay residence in case he decided to conduct surprise visits to nearby government projects, he would invite his in-house coverage team — me, the photographer and cameraman — to join him and Mrs. Ramos at their family dining table for lunch.”

Ramos was also very thorough as a manager. Terencio recalls that Ramos required his Cabinet and back-office staff to render “CSW” or “Completed Staff Work.”

No project or proposal could be evaluated unless “all documents were complete and a thorough study undertaken.”

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When the PeopleAsia team visited Ramos in his Ramos Peace and Development Foundation Inc. (RPDEV) headquarters in a Makati high-rise, the former President was already waiting for us. His feet were up, and he explained it was because of his gout. But to prove that he was still physically fit, he did some push-ups with the male members of the PeopleAsia team.

His office is filled with mementoes of an exciting life, and a momentous period in Philippine history. There are photos of virtually all world leaders shaking his hand. There are also framed golf balls, as the former President is an avid golfer.

I asked him what he thinks is his best legacy, and his answer is virtually the answer of anyone who was already of age in 1986: EDSA.

But not only EDSA.

“A lot…EDSA…the peace and development aspect of that...non-violent regime change, accompanied by sustainable socioeconomic development,” he replies when asked for what he considers his greatest legacy.

“Legacy, that’s my legacy to you. If you don’t like it, go home. I hope you understand the odds…You go up against the Commander-in-Chief and General (Fabian) Ver, Chief of Staff. They had the tanks, they had the helicopters, they had the fighter bombers, they had the artillery, they had the Marines. We had nothing except for 300 people.”

After the interview, he sent me a book where he wrote, “Why did more than a million Filipinos, armed only with their patriotic convictions…come out in defiance of overwhelming odds…?”

His answer: “We gathered at EDSA and made or stand against the Marcos dictatorship because we loved freedom, and were tired of the nation we had become.”

Ramos wanted a new beginning for the Philippines, which included his five daughters.

He said the only thing that the Philippines cannot rely on foreign sources for is good governance. “The only thing that countries cannot outsource is good government — which must be homegrown — along with leadership, national solidarity, competence, teamwork, and other cherished values.”

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In this month’s issue of PeopleAsia, he told writer Kap Aguila, who was a teenager during EDSA: “Going to the top is optional, but going down is mandatory…This is the rule against all these dictators.”

He also lamented the cycle of discrediting and erasing the gains of previous administrations. “For us to progress faster and maintain a lead position, we must always succeed better than our predecessor…You must be better than the guy you replace. (But that’s just the) same between father and son.”

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, dubbed the “American Caesar,” once said, “Old soldiers never die. They just fade away.”

Fidel Ramos is an old soldier, but he doesn’t seem close to either of the two scenarios. PeopleAsia quotes him as saying, “Who wants to slow down? The most glorious way of dying, as far as soldiers are concerned, is to die from an enemy’s bullet in combat. But equally glorious and noble is just to drop dead of old age after providing for a family, paying your taxes, and helping your community and your neighbor. That’s what I’m after now.”

 (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)